Lu Jun

Lu Jun

Lu Jun is the representative work of another peak in the development history of Jun porcelain after the official kilns of Song Dynasty. In Jun porcelain circles, there is a saying that "only Lu Jun can be comparable with Song Jun". Lu Jun is a kind of Jun porcelain and a pearl in Jun porcelain art treasure house. Jun porcelain is one of the five famous kilns of Song Dynasty in China. It is famous for its unique art of kiln transformation. It is known as "gold is valuable, Jun is priceless" and "it is better than Jun porcelain if you have a family". Its name should come from the Lu family in Qing Dynasty.

brief introduction

Lu Jun was born in the late Qing Dynasty. At that time, due to the invasion of the world powers, dignitaries and rich merchants from all over the world also entered, which ushered in a prosperous period of antique industry at that time. At that time, Lu Zhentai and Lu Zhenzhong, the potters in Shenlong Town, Yuzhou, and their nephews, Tianfu, Tianen, and Tianzeng brothers were influenced by them and determined to restore Jun porcelain. After many years of repeated experiments, they finally made small pieces of imitation Song Dynasty porcelain with bellows Jun porcelain. Later, after years of further pursuit, exploration, research and experiment by the third generation of Lu family's descendants Guangtong, Guangdong, Guanghua, Guangwen, etc., Lu Jun, a small kiln comparable to Song Jun, was finally made in the late years of Guangxu. Because it was made in a small furnace, it was called Lu Jun, and because of various techniques and formulas, it was created by Lu family, so it was also called Lu Jun. The finished product is exquisite and has been mistaken for Song Jun's collection by the British Museum. the Lu family has contributed a lot to the restoration and development of Jun porcelain! Lu Jun is a shining pearl in the garden of Jun porcelain, but it still stays in the stage of "ten kilns, nine can't be finished". One kiln can only burn 1-3 pieces at a time, and it's very difficult to make them. Few of the finished products are complete, so they have become the precious porcelain that Jun porcelain industry dreams of.

origin

Jun porcelain flourished in the Tang Dynasty and flourished in the Song Dynasty. After thousands of years of ups and downs, especially after 500 years of dating, it is in danger of extinction. In 1879 (the fifth year of qingguangxu), Lu Jun was restored, and the Song Jun of 500 years was restored perfectly, which created the modern history of Jun porcelain in China. according to the historical records of Jun porcelain memorabilia of Henan Provincial Museum, Lu Jun made 36 birthday gifts for Empress Dowager Cixi's 60th birthday, including "Yugong Jiuding". He also participated in the San Francisco World Expo in 1915 and won the gold medal. Over the past 130 years, Lu Jun has saved China's Jun porcelain for three times and established the technical system of Jun porcelain industry; Lu Jun kiln has always kept in mind the ancestors' motto: persisting in the pursuit of pure aesthetics and high ancient elegant artistic style of porcelain. Lu Jun, as the imperial kiln mouth of the Qing Dynasty, is also the only ancient kiln porcelain in production. Therefore, it is said in the industry that "talking about Jun porcelain can't do without Lu Jun, saying that Jun porcelain can't do without Lu family". Lu Jun's craft can be called the greatest creation in the history of Jun porcelain in China, and it is also the most widely used and imitated rare and famous porcelain.

origin

In the 20th year of Guangxu (1894), Lu Tianfu, Lu Tianzeng and Lu Tianen inherited their parents' wishes. After a long period of hard work, they finally succeeded in firing Jun porcelain. The glaze color of the product is malachite green and blue, and the technology of a few products is close to the level of "Song Jun". Since then, Jun porcelain, which had been discontinued for a long time, has been regenerated. From the 18th to the 23rd year of Guangxu (1892-1897), Shenlong potters and merchants raised more than 3000 yuan to rebuild the main hall and theater of bailingweng temple. Lu Tianfu presented Jun porcelain vase and set it on the ridge of the floor. In 1902, the governor of Henan ordered Lu Tianen, a craftsman of Jun porcelain from Shenlong, to make "nine tripods of Yu tribute" to celebrate Empress Dowager Cixi's birthday. The next year, it was successfully fired and sent to Beijing. At this point, Jun porcelain entered the palace again. On August 20, 1904, Junxing company opened in shenxun. This company is a joint venture between Cao Guangquan, governor of Yuzhou, and Hu Xianglin, a gentry businessman. In the same year, Junxing company sent technicians to Jingdezhen to learn fine porcelain skills, and invited Jingdezhen technicians to exchange porcelain making skills. In the same year, led by Hou Bu Dao sun Tinglin, he raised funds to set up Jun kiln porcelain factory in Yuzhou City. In 1905, there was a severe drought in Yuzhou, and ceramics were unsalable. A cart of bowls (1500 pieces) could only be exchanged for a bucket of rice. When the kilns stopped production, some potters starved to death in the streets, while others fled to other places. In the same year, Cao Guangquan, governor of Yuzhou, was transferred to Beijing, and Junxing company was still led by Wang Ruifu, an official of Henan government. At the beginning of the Republic of China, Zhang Tingbi, a man of shenxun, was employed to assist in the organization. Later, due to the chaos of the current situation, it was unable to operate, and it was closed in the early years of the Republic of China. the Republic of China (1912-1949) in 1913, Yuzhou was changed to Yuxian. In 1914, the United States held a world trade fair in San Francisco to celebrate the opening of the Panama Canal. Henan Province organized the preparation of Panama games, Henan export commodities Association, collected more than 100 kinds of Jun porcelain and other local products from Yu County, and more than 1000 pieces were exhibited. Jun porcelain products include: big Ding, big stove, medium stove, small Ding, big vase, Bagua square bottle, flower drum type big bottle, vase, flower Zun, big pot, big pot, medium pot, No.2 medium pot, Bagua wash, Batou incense burner, etc. These products are made by Lu brothers of Junxing company. In 1915, Tian Wenlie, the governor of Henan Province, asked the governor of Chengyu county to invite the rich merchants of Yin Dynasty to discuss and make Jun porcelain. Later, because of the war, it was fruitless. In 1917, Han Bangfu, the county magistrate of Yu County, rebuilt Junxing company in Shenlong, mainly firing coarse porcelain, and also firing Jun porcelain. In 1929, Yu county government established a vocational middle school in the city, set up a ceramics department, and hired Lu Guanghua, a master of Jun porcelain in shenxun, to teach Jun porcelain. In 1930, Wang Fengxi, a famous craftsman of Jun porcelain in shenxun, hand pulled a vase of Jun porcelain and sold it in Xi'an for 600 yuan. On February 6 of the lunar calendar in 1932, Wang Jin, a craftsman of shenxun ceramics, was forced to commit suicide in a kiln because he was unable to pay off the debts of the kiln owner. In 1935, Xing Dani and Xing Erni, the daughters of Xing Xiusheng, a craftsman of shenxun ceramics, broke through the old custom that women could not burn kilns, and learned to draw blanks by hand to make bowls, plates, teacups, and later Jun porcelain. In 1936, the Royal Society of London held an international exhibition of Chinese art at the Burlington building, displaying Chinese cultural relics and arts and crafts collected by various countries. There are many Jun porcelain treasures on display in the fifth hall, including flat peaches from Song Jun kiln and brush washing in the Palace Museum. In the summer of 1936, Yuxian vocational middle school changed its name to ceramic vocational school, and moved from Mawang temple in the city to Shenlong town. Li Zhiyi was the principal of the school. He hired craftsmen Lu Guanghua, Wen Xiu and Yang Shuxin to teach ceramics. In 1940, Hou Muyi, the head of Yu County, raised 3000 yuan from the business gentry to produce Jun porcelain in the affiliated factory of Shenlong ceramic vocational school. Zhou Yi was appointed president and manager, Zhang zhileng (director of ceramic vocational school) and Meng Rongting (representative of ceramic owner) were appointed deputy managers. After 1942, due to drought and Japanese invasion, schools and factories were closed down. In December 1940, workers in the porcelain factories of Shenlong, Yu County, went on strike to ask the management to increase their wages. Because Ru Songfu colluded with the county government to arrest the strike leaders Zheng Wenzi and Ren fashun, which aroused the anger of the workers. The scale of the strike was very large. The management was forced to release the arrested workers, promised to increase the capital of each worker by 20 Wen per day, and compensate 500 Silver yuan for the loss of work stoppage. The strike lasted for more than a month. It was the first large-scale and long-term strike in the history of Shenlong labor movement. In 1941, the 13 officers and soldiers of the Kuomintang robbed the Lu family, a craftsman of Jun porcelain in shencuan, and robbed them of their precious Jun porcelain. Jun porcelain artists suffered from natural disasters and the oppression of reactionary forces, and their lives were miserable. Jun porcelain was on the verge of production stop again. In May 1944, the Japanese army captured Shenhe. In winter, PI Dingjun and Zhang caiqianbu of the Eighth Route Army successively entered western Henan, established Anti Japanese base areas and carried out Anti Japanese activities in Shenlong area. On April 15, 1949, Ren Jian, a member of the fifth branch of western Henan Administrative Office, set up a people's factory to produce ceramics. This factory is the predecessor of Yuzhou porcelain factory.

Historical evolution

Lu Jun began in 1870. In history, due to the war, Jun porcelain firing skills to the early Qing Dynasty period has been basically lost. In the fifth year of Qing Dynasty, Lu Zhentai, a kiln worker in Shenlong Town, was determined to restore Jun porcelain. In 1902, he successfully fired "Yugong Jiuding", which became the birthday gift of Empress Dowager Cixi at her 60th birthday. Later, he represented the country in the 1915 Panama International Exposition. According to the records of Jun porcelain, after the founding of new China, Jun porcelain was restored through people's memory of Lu Jun. Therefore, Lu Jun is not only the founder of modern Chinese Jun porcelain, but also the root of contemporary Jun porcelain. Lu Jun's reputation in Jun porcelain is very high, but due to the influence of backward ideas such as "pass on the elder but not the younger, pass on the male but not the female", it is very difficult to see the authentic glaze change of Lu Jun kiln. Although many Jun porcelain makers have made unremitting explorations, the artistic effects of the legendary "golden thread" and "golden spot glaze" have never appeared.

Porcelain making technology

At the bottom of the kiln, firewood was spread first, and 15-20 cm of rotten charcoal was added to it, with horse feet lined to prevent the bottom of the box from collapsing and degenerating. The glazed product is lined with mud cake and put into the sagger. The sagger is placed in the center of the kiln and covered to prevent the ash from entering the casket and polluting the product. It is surrounded with coke and leveled with the mouth of the sagger, and ignited in the ash pit. The coke is ignited by air box or blower, the sagger cover is removed and the dust is blown away until the thick smoke disappears, the coke burns, the green smoke from the kiln mouth flies to the kiln mouth and the sagger is dark red. The dust on the product is blown away again and the sagger cover is covered (a round hole is left in the middle of the sagger cover, In order to observe the fire color), do not cover the top of the kiln, wait for the sagger to burn red and the soot to come out, and burn it for about 1 hour with low fire to let the moisture of the green body out, and then cover the movable top of the kiln. At this time, it mainly depends on whether the temperature reaches 830-8500c, and the minimum is 7500c

Chinese PinYin : Lu Jun1